After what we've been through lately my motivation to start the season is huge
Jakarta - Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez has immense motivation to start the new MotoGP season which will open with the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend.
The 29-year-old is now entering his tenth season in the premier class in the Repsol Honda team uniform and with 142 Grand Prix starts in hand he is the third most experienced rider on the current MotoGP grid.
The Spaniard missed the 2020 season after falling and getting injured in the series opener at Jerez. The following year was also a tough season for the rider who carried the number 93 as an arm that had not recovered from an injury plagued his form in the attempt to "comeback" although he was able to celebrate victories in Germany, the United States and San Marino in the end.
Marquez's goal this season is clear: to return to the top flight and fight for the world title.
"What can I say about the start of the 2022 season? After what we've been through lately my motivation to start this season is very big," Marquez was quoted as saying on the team's official website.
"We've been through something difficult and now it's time to enjoy. But it's not just enjoying racing, enjoying competing and fighting in the front row again," said the driver, who missed the final two races of the 2021 season due to a fall while practicing motocross which caused him to experience diplopia or double vision. that.
After being declared recovered from a visual injury, Marquez was given the green light to return to riding a MotoGP bike during official tests earlier this year at Sepang and Mandalika.
In Qatar later, Marquez will be equipped with a Honda RC213V motorbike which has undergone major changes this season and has shown its potential as the fastest at the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit when Pol Espargaro brought him for a pre-season test last month.
"We arrived with a new bike, so we need to see how he behaves in Qatar, but we built it on a good base and I can't wait for this weekend and race again.
"It will be my first time racing in Qatar since 2019, but I'm ready."
Of his seven appearances at the Losail International Circuit, Marquez has claimed one win and only missed two podiums.
The Losail Circuit, which is on the outskirts of Doha, entered the MotoGP calendar in 2004 and held a night race for the first time in 2008.
Since 2007 the circuit has not been absent from the calendar except in 2020 when the world was shaken by COVID-19.
Shin Tae-yong targets Indonesia to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup
The Indonesian national team coach Shin Tae-yong targets his team to qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup by being able to step from the final qualifying round where the "Garuda" squad is in Group A with Jordan, Kuwait and Nepal.
"We are targeting to qualify even though it is through the second best ranking scheme," said Shin at the Bung Karno Intermediate Stadium, Jakarta, Wednesday (2/3).
The South Korean tactician realized that their competitors in Group A were a strong squad.
Therefore, Shin promised to prepare his team as well as possible.
The players who will be fielded in the 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers, he continued, the majority of the U-23 players who will also compete in the 2022 SEA Games.
"As many as 80 percent of the 2023 Asian Cup Qualification squad are SEA Games players," said Shin.
The final round of the AFC 2023 Asian Cup Qualification itself will be held on 8-14 June 2022.
Indonesia, which is in Group A with Kuwait, Jordan and Nepal, will compete in Kuwait.
The group can be said to be tough for the "Garuda" squad because Kuwait was the winner of the Asian Cup in 1980, ranked second in 1976, third in 1984 and semifinalist in 1996.
While Jordan was a quarter-finalist of the Asian Cup in 2004. Nepal has never tasting the Asian Cup finals.
The Indonesian national team has appeared in the Asian Cup four times, namely 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2007 with the result that they have never escaped the group phase.
The final round of the 2023 Asian Cup qualification, which consists of six groups, is looking for the best 11 teams to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup in China.
In detail, six teams are group winners and the other five are the best second-ranked teams.
They will join teams that have already qualified for the 2023 Asian Cup, namely hosts China, Australia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, South Korea, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
In total, there are 24 countries that will compete in the 2023 Asian Cup, China, which will take place on June 16-16 July 2023.
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